Your opinion is worth a bit more to me than $0.02. Moody almost had me sold on Husky 340/345/350's (and their Jred equivalents) and if it wasn't for the fact that the only 340 in the area was 2 hours away, and on the other side of Boston from me; I probably would've bought it. I was getting ready to look at a 350 located about 15 miles away and decided to check the specs on them; I was not impressed. I converted the kw (2.3) over to hp and got 3.08, and the weight came in at either 10.6 or 10.8 lbs, not heavy for a nearly 52cc saw, but it seemed under powered. I remembered that the MS 250 was rated at 3 HP, looked up the weight and they came in at 10.1 lbs, which is lighter than the 40cc (2.68 hp) 340 at 10.3 lbs. I worked out all of the power to weight ratios that I could find on 40cc saws and the 340 was the best, but then realized that the MS 250 easily beat it, the 345 and even the 350 (not in hp, but power to weight ratio). That's what got me thinking about the MS 250 and they do have their flaws and their detractors, but the majority of posters who have written anything about them all say about the same thing that you just did. "Beat the holy heck of the thing and it willingly comes back for more abuse." Overall, most owners of the saw praise it's reliability, durability and they seem to be good cutters to boot. It's a homeowner grade "clam shell", so what? For what I am looking to do with it; I don't need a pro saw, would be a waste of money. I have every reason to believe that the previously mentioned Huskies and Jreds are excellent saws, but I don't have any reason at this point to believe that the MS 250 is inferior to them.
Have you owned or run the 340 and 345? Thoughts? The MS 361 that I already have is 59cc, 4.4 hp, and I didn't want to get a saw that was too close in size. The lighter weight of the smaller saw is also appealing, part of the reason I'm buying the smaller saw. I haven't written Husky off yet; I'm just weighing my options.
Tested this 025 engine twice and got 103 and 105 psi. Imagine that after ten years of use, about 500 hours of operation, and the original piston and rings? I'm afraid that I have to be impressed. I wager this saw will last another 10 years without breathing hard. A new pickup body, fuel line, and tank vent hose was all it needed--less than $20 in parts. I spent the rest of the time cleaning it all up, sharpening the chain, and redressing the bar. It's good to go.
This, as well as what the rest of the posters have written, is all good stuff and the exact discussion that I was looking to have. The one question left in my mind about the Huskies is their reliability. Stihl's reputation for reliability, dependability and ruggedness is legendary. Okay, the 350 is the better overall saw between the two, but is it going to start and run trouble free for years? I've heard others say, and this is opinion speaking, that the "fiddle factor" is higher for Huskies than for Stihl, which seem to have the reputation of "set it and forget it." This means that the Huskies require more tuning to keep them running right, is this true or not?
Right on Furguson! - In regards to what psi to expect on a MS150C Stihl chainsaw. I just got done intalling a new fuel pump today. Also did a compression test. I have the automotive 0-300 psi pressure gauge with the short hose and threaded fittings. I only had about 26 psi before the tuning. Felt like it too. It wasn't starting, so I replaced the fuel pump, since it was leaking. Pulled the muffler off, checked the screen on it - clean. Checked the piston for scaring by pulling on the rope a few times - no scaring, but it looked black like it was getting some blow-by, but no scaring. Yay! Only some carbon build up. I pulled the spark plug and saturated both sides in PB Blaster for about 5 minutes. I thought maybe the rings had seated themselves in the piston from to much carbon build up. Therefore it wouldn't start. Took the wire brush to the spark plug and reinstalled everything. My Stihl mechanic said I should think about upgrading, because he was sure it should be reading closer closer to 100-125 psi at least. However, I believe in miracles. So, you wouldn't believe it. This thing started on the second pull and runs on an idle like new off the shelf! It smoked a good bit from the PB Blaster for about 20-30 seconds. After trimming a few trees like a champion, I pulled the spark plug and did another compression test fully expecting 100-150 psi for how good it runs. Well to my amazement now it's reading even lower at 23-24 psi! Haven't had it running this good in a long time. Maybe someone else can explain the low pressure reading? This gauge is reading well over 100 psi perfectly on a V8 Mercruiser. Another amazing thing - this thing started on year old fuel and idles beautifully. No joke. Running as strong as new on old fuel. I must say that I'm using Amsoil 2 cycle fuel mix with Ethonal gas. Highly recommend Amsoil's fuel oil over Stihl's 2 cycle oil, but I'm still unclear why everyone thinks these small engines need such high compression when my MS250C clearly does not!
